This invention relates to hand stamps and more particularly to a self-inking hand stamp that has an ink pad held in the stamp frame that provides ink to the image forming stamp material.
One type of conventional stamp requires manufacturing a stamping member from rubber or other flexible material. The stamping member is mounted on a handle that is grasped by the user. The stamping member is placed into contact with ink, usually contained in an inkpad. The inked stamping member is then pressed against the surface onto which the stamp image is to be transferred. Repetition of the stamping process required that the stamping member be pressed against the inkpad each time an image is to be transferred. This is a disadvantage to the user as it requires extra time for each re-inking step and slows down the stamping process if many stampings are to be done. It also requires the use of an inkpad that is separate from the stamp which must be periodically re-inked.
Another type of stamp uses a stamping member made from a permeable material that allows ink to pass through the stamping member. The ink is held within the stamp and allowed to gradually ooze onto the stamping member. This eliminated the need for a separate stamp inkpad. These stamps are referred to as self-inking stamps.
An example of this stamp is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,444 issued to Toyama. This patent illustrates a hand stamp that has a sealed ink compartment that stores the ink. The ink can be refilled into the compartment by means of removing a threaded screw at the top of the compartment. Once the screw is removed, the ink can be injected, and the screw replaced. The stamping member has a stamping surface with stamping and non-stamping portions.
There are several problems with this type of self inking device. First, depending on the design, it may require adding ink through the top to fill or refill the ink chamber. This is a messy procedure. It also may result in adding too little or too much ink to the ink chamber. Second, the chamber must be sealed to allow the ink to only ooze out through the bottom opening onto the stamp pad. Third, there is no safeguard that minimizes the possibility of the stamping surface inadvertently coming into contact with the image receiving surface and creating an unwanted deposit of ink.
Another type of stamp uses an ink pad held in the stamp frame with a reciprocating image forming stamp mounted below the ink pad. The image forming stamp is held against the ink pad by a spring mechanism. When the image is to be placed on the image receiving material, the user pushes down on the stamp handle which is connected to the image forming stamp. This causes the image forming stamp to rotate 180° while it is being pushed in the direction of the image receiving material. The image forming stamp contacts the image receiving material and transfers the inked image onto the image receiving material. This stamp has the advantage that the ink pad can be removed for replacement or re-inking. A problem is that the ink pad has a limited quantity of ink that it can store. Also the ink pad can only have one color or type of ink in the pad.
Applicant's invention is directed to the stamp design that uses a reciprocating image forming stamp mounted below the ink pad. The invention addresses and solves the problem of the prior art ink pads having only a limited supply of ink and only one type of ink. The invention comprises an ink pad holder or tray that has a central barrier wall that divides the ink pad holder into two separate compartments. This allows the ink pad holder to have one ink pad on one side and a second ink pad, that can be the same or different, on the other side. By simply removing and rotating the ink pad holder, the stamp can print with two different types or colors of ink. Alternatively, the same color ink can be stored on both pads. In an alternate embodiment, an ink pad can be mounted in the lower compartment and the upper compartment can be left empty for storing paper clips, folded paper instructions and other small items. In another alternate embodiment, the thickness of the ink pad holder remains the same but the dividing wall is moved to one side allowing for a double size ink pad that is held by the ink pad holder which doubles the ink carrying capacity of the ink pad and results in substantially more images being made before re-inking is necessary.